Phoenix Tears
by Destiny Kitty
Summary: Kai finds his lover fatally wounded on the field of battle. Death ficlet with a happy ending... read the title! MxK


**Disclaimer:** characters by Aoki Takao, Beyblade Project, etc.

**Warning**: Blood. Shonen-ai.

**Author's Note**: A while back my deviantArt friend I-Love-Moony was looking for people to do art trades, which I jumped on, and she requested a piece with Kai kneeling by an injured Miguel. This is a departure from my usual MxK style though not from my general sensibilities on romance (I love it when the female/uke saves their lover – Pocahontas anyone?) so it sounded good to me. In a preliminary sketch I came up with the title and initial ideas for a story to describe what was going on – I love AU but it does demand some explanation. A couple weeks ago I decided where to start and one class-free morning I went for it and wrote the whole thing at once.

Hope you enjoy the story and stop by my deviantArt gallery to see the (lovely, bloody) illustration! There is a link to it on my profile.

_**~~~Phoenix Tears~~~**_

By Destiny Kitty

Sapphire eyes stared dully into the scarlet sky above, scorched with sunset light. _Red at night, sailors' delight,_ the owner of the eyes recalled vaguely. He was a knight, a warrior who lived to protect his small home town and had never set foot on a ship, so the old saying did not mean very much to him, but it gave him something to think about. _How did the other part go, about morning…?_

_It doesn't matter. I won't live to see the morning._

He turned his attention back to the sky, its bloody color so similar to that of the warm liquid flowing between his fingers. The tiny movement of his head aggravated his lungs, triggering a choked cough that tasted like copper. Grimacing slightly in distaste he tried to ignore the burning wound piercing his body and focus on the crimson sunset, so similar in color of the eyes of the one he loved, the one he hated to leave in this excruciating manner. _A life cut short…_

Vision blurring, he almost didn't notice when two pieces of the scarlet sky were suddenly hovering directly in front of him, but the distress in the voice calling his name was too much to ignore.

"Miguel!"

Hands ran gently wild over his face, hair, chest, stomach. Miguel raised one of his own hands, catching the one investigating the grave wound that had sliced through his abs and was quickly stealing his life blood. Kai's gaze snapped from that horrifying gash to the face of the dying knight, stunning ruby eyes welling up as Miguel's attempt at a reassuring smile was ruined by another wet cough. A trickle of blood escaped from between parched lips.

When he felt able to control his voice, the knight whispered, "Why… are you here?"

Biting his lip at the desperate breathlessness in that voice, the newcomer explained, "I couldn't stay away, I had such a terrible feeling. I can't loose you!"

"Kai, I – I don't think I'll…."

A sob broke free of Kai's throat and he dropped his head to the blonde's chest, encircling Miguel's head and shoulder with his arms. "Please, Miguel, don't leave me!"

"I never wanted to…."

Scratched, blood-flecked arms enfolded the thin, shuddering boy above him, drawing Kai close with a gentleness born of both tender affection and devastating weakness. Blue eyes slid closed as their vision faded to black. The shallow, panting breaths meant to sustain his need for oxygen gradually slowed.

Feeling the life draining from the battle-torn body in his arms, Kai drew back slightly to look at his knight. "Miguel?"

"Kai," he breathed, so quietly that his voice would have been lost had their surroundings not been almost completely silent. "I l-love you. I always will."

"I love you too, Miguel. Please…."

Crystalline drops slid down Kai's cheeks as he watched pale, bloodless lips curve in a slight smile. Then the knight let go. Limp arms slid from around Kai's back, and his whole body relaxed into the ground, lifeless.

"Miguel! Miguel, no! Please, come back," Kai cried, pulling the knight's body into his arms. "Miguel…!"

Tears such as he had never cried before, thicker and more painful that he ever thought possible, splashed down his porcelain cheeks. Feeling that his heart was bursting he cried harder, clutching the one person he could not live without, begging him not to be gone.

Lightning split the sky above, and the quickly following thunder clap signaled a downpour of heavy rain. Overwrought and gasping in anguish, Kai tilted his head back and let the raindrops mingle with his tears, engorging the stream flowing from his tight-shut eyes.

_Please, never let us be apart. _

He drew in a deep, shuddering breathe, then lowered his head. Steeling himself mentally, he opened his eyes to look again at his dead lover.

Wild blond hair was slowly being weighed down by the torrential rain. Beautiful blue eyes were lidded, face pale and peaceful. With another harsh sob Kai trailed trembling fingers along Miguel's cheek, following the line of his neck down to his chest. Swallowing, he glanced at the fatal stab wound.

Miguel's blood was washing away, the heavy rain working to clear away all traces of injury. Kai closed his eyes as memories of being held tightly against that hard, warm body overflowed his mind. He could not imagine going on without his knight. They had promised to spend their lives together for years to come.

_Miguel…_

Unwillingly allowing the present moment to overrun his sweet memories, Kai realized something odd. His eyes flew open, fingers instantly running to confirm what he had seen but not immediately noticed. _All traces––!_

The wound, the horrible jagged wound that had robbed the knight of his life blood, had actually **washed** **away**.

A soft sigh drew shocked crimson eyes to the knight's face just as the sapphire blue eyes reopened, looking tranquil and slightly confused but free of pain. Miguel blinked slowly, then pushed himself up off the ground on one elbow, running fingers and eyes over his newly healed torso. After a moment he turned to Kai and smiled.

"My phoenix."

As that voice convinced him that he was not dreaming and that smile dissolved all his worries, Kai jumped into the arms now opened toward him. Miguel passionately clasped his smaller lover against him, lying back in the mud of the battlefield as the rain continued to obliterate all traces of the conflict that had raged over the last several days. Their lips and mouths met in intense kisses, overwhelmed with relief.

When the rain started to lighten and they had finally begun to feel more comfortable with their restored relationship, Miguel lay back fully, looking blissfully up at his beloved mate. Kai blushed slightly under the intensity of his gaze, leaning down to catch Miguel's lips once more. With a chaste kiss, Miguel chuckled.

"What?" Kai asked gently, still drinking in the exhilarating relief of knowing that his true love was alive and completely well.

"You sure know how to make a storm," Miguel chuckled.

Kai looked up into the rain still pelting down on them. "I had nothing to do with the rain; you know that."

Miguel sat up, pulling Kai onto his lap. "Of course not."

Kai rolled his eyes slightly, then caught his breath slightly as Miguel stood, supporting Kai bridal-style in his strong arms.

"Let's get you home before you catch cold," the blond knight suggested. "I don't want to loose you."

This time it was Kai who smiled, thinking of the irony of the situation. "I'm so lucky to have you."

"No, I think I'm the one who's lucky to be with you."

"Because I'm a phoenix?" Kai asked softly. How convenient that he had been able to restore Miguel's life.

"Because you are _you_, an amazing person who loves me, and I adore you. I never knew love could be this strong until I knew you, and I want to be with you forever."

Kai looked up, reading sincerity and absolute devotion in the face of the young man cradling him so tenderly in his arms. He nestled his head into Miguel's shoulder, sighing, "I love you so much. I only ever want to love you."

Placing a soft kiss on Kai's forehead, Miguel strode off away from the field of battle now beginning it's own slow recovery under the soaking, cleansing rain pouring from the deep blue twilight sky.

_**~~~fin~~~**_

_Red in the morning, sailors' warning. Red at night, sailors delight_

It's just some old saying about the weather: apparently a red sunrise means bad weather while a red sunset indicates good weather. I messed it up, throwing in the storm, but it wasn't planned that way; it just felt right at that point in the story. Maybe Kai really did cause the storm with the intensity of his feelings…?

Well, it was sad for a while, but I think the end was plenty fluffy enough to make up for that.

Does everyone know the legend of phoenix tears? They are supposed to be able to cure any injury. I suppose anyone familiar with Harry Potter knows this.

**VVVVV**


End file.
